


We'll Always Be

by kanonicity



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, M/M, Major Character Injury, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-15 00:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19284154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanonicity/pseuds/kanonicity
Summary: He tries to focus for a moment. Everyone is still speaking over each other. Something feels wrong. Maybe the fight isn’t over.“Wait," Lance says. “Where’s Keith?”---A one-shot based onJulie’sdaily klance art forDay 74.





	We'll Always Be

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is my first ever one-shot i have ever written in full for these boys. i miss klance and a lot of the art i've seen for them has helped me stay creative. so here we are, 1.5k+ words later!
> 
> i hope you enjoy it + don't forget to check the [ art](%E2%80%9Dtwitter.com/rendevok/status/1112609467873398788%E2%80%9D) that inspired this.

The mission on XLCRT-39 was supposed to be like nearly every other planet-side mission they take on. Keep the people and planet as safe as possible, defeat any threats, and provide assistance with restoring stability. However, when the Galra showed up, Lance remembers smoke filling his vision accompanied by a shout over the comms. It’s cut short however and the line is immediately filled with static. They land planet-side with upgraded blasters that easily blow through walls and new technology used to split the team up. And while it was a hard fight, damage is done and the threat is no more.

Lance lets himself breathe as the smoke clears and returns his bayard to his side. The communication line coming back online brings a faint sense of relief. Voices fill the line and Lance calls out confirmation that he is alright. He tries to focus for a moment. Everyone is still speaking over each other. Something feels wrong. Maybe the fight isn’t over.

“Wait," Lance says. “Where’s Keith?”

Everyone else falls silent, offering the missing paladin a chance to respond.

“Keith come in,” Shiro’s voice is calm. “Keith.”

“Was anyone near Keith before we got separated?” Allura asks.

When the others respond negatively, that uneasy feeling only grows stronger. Then someone is speaking again. It’s Pidge and they are going on about something. He thinks he hears Hunk chime in too, but his focus is now on finding Keith. So he raises his wrist and taps it twice to pull up a map. He knows where he is, on the outskirts of XLCRT-39 marketplace. It was easier to stop all targets outside the maze of stores and stalls and booths. Zooming out some more, he counts four other dots much closer together, and still a bit away from his location.

“Keith,” Lance calls again. ”Come on man. Where are you?”

Lance is used to Keith being a quiet over the line because Keith never fails to do check-ins. Yet, the question remains unanswered and nothing about this situation feels okay.

“I found him,” Pidge says, as another dot appears on the map.

Without a thought, Lance starts running. A blinking red speck on the map that’s supposed to be Keith is closest to him. Keith is south from his location and the fastest route is through the marketplace. His heart beats inside his chest and sounds louder than his boots pounding against the gravel streets. The closer he gets to Keith’s spot on the map, Lance realizes he cannot see a single sign that Keith is nearby.

“I can’t see him,” Lance says. His blue dot blinks right next to Keith’s red.

“Keep looking Lance. We’re almost there.” Allura’s worry seeps through even as her voice holds steady.

Lance hums in response. He notices the others moving toward his current location. They’re still too far for his liking. _No, we don’t have time to think about that. Find Keith._

And so he searches, he calls out loudly and strains his ears for a response. His head whips from left to right, looking frantically for a sign that Keith was even there. Lance glances at his map again and paces back towards a stall that is blown to pieces. The blue and red dots overlap. Fear bleeds into frustration and Lance thinks he can feel Red’s agitation seep through their connection. _Wait… Is that?_

In the doorway of a store is Keith’s helmet. The visor is shattered and the top looks singed. Next to it are sliced pieces of a large Galra blaster. He moves closer to the helmet and before he can even shout out again, he feels his throat closing up. Blood splatters become more visible against the gravel. Lance shoots a hand out and braces himself against the side of the shop. His legs feel weak. He wants to look away from the red. He has to keep searching.

The sounds of grunting and stones rolling pulls Lance back into reality fast. Blue eyes follow the red trail around the shop’s corner. It seemingly leads in the direction of the sounds. Quietly, Lance summons his bayard and advances. He takes a deep breath and raises his blaster.

Lance abruptly stops as he rounds the corner. On the ground is a Galran general with Keith’s sword sticking right through their chest. His eyes stray right and Lance finds himself moving again. _Keith._

“Keith! I found him,” Lance practically screams. “Hurry and tell Coran to get a healing pod ready.”

“What’s wro-“

“Just do it!”

 

* * *

 

It takes all of his energy to stay upright and steady. So when he manages to drive his sword through the nameless general and they go down, Keith lets himself breathe. Then he collapses on the ground.

 _Everything is fuzzier._ Keith thinks to himself. It is like someone stuffed cotton in his ears and lungs. His vision blurs, though he’s uncertain if the cause is the pain or the tears in his eyes. The burning sensation in his side from the blaster increase tenfold when his bare side brushes against gravel. He blacks out for a moment and immediately turns onto his good side when he comes back to. He hoped being the paladin of fire helped provide some magical immunity or relief to burns and the like. That is all wishful thinking.

_Get up. Move. Do something._

Keith is stubborn to orders, but this he does. He clenches his jaw and bites his tongue as he drags himself towards a pile of dirt. He steels himself and does his damndest, which fortunately is enough. He falls back on the heap with a groan. Everything hurts so much more now. Though his vision is blurred, the sight of his burns and cracked armour breaks something inside. He wants to cry some more, but right now it hurts to even breathe. He has to keep going.

“Anyone,” Keith croaks out. “I need help.”

Maybe he should have dragged himself back towards his helmet. Except he knows the first blast to the head he took fried any chance of communication, even if the lines came back online sooner. It cuts the static into silence and a fear Keith knew all too well creeps back up on him. He feels so alone.

“Lance, Shiro, Allura,” Keith starts again. His lungs scream at him to stop and he can barely hear himself. “Hunk, Pidge, Coran. Please, anyone.”

The pain reaches a new level of agony before something he tries so desperately not to think about fills his mind. A part of Keith knows he probably won’t make it through this. That does not scare him as much as it should and for once this is something he can’t run away from. The blurriness in his vision returns stronger as he lets himself cry in the realization of how alone he is. How he might not have a chance to say goodbye. A gentle prodding in his mind brings some comfort. _Thank you, Black._

A faint smile makes it way onto Keith’s face. _Tell them I’m sorry, Black. Please tell them how much I’ll miss them, how important they are to me._ There’s so much more he wants to say. His chest feels too tight and he blacks out again, as messages meant to be good byes flood his mind.

 

* * *

 

“Keith, you’ve got to wake up.” Lance falls to his knees at Keith’s side and begs. “Keith, I need you to wake up and answer me. You can’t…”

The moment Lance’s hands touch Keith’s shoulders, Keith seemingly comes back to life. His eyes are blown wide and move around frantically before settling on Lance. Lance lets out a shaky laugh and smiles. Keith tries to mimic such a look, but it falls short and looks more like a grimace. He thinks to himself everything that he would give to have Lance smile at him like that all the time.

“Hey man,” Lance says. “Looks like you could use a hand.”

A short silence takes over and Keith can see Lance glance away for a moment. He doesn’t seem to like what he sees because his smile falters slightly.

“Lance,” Keith whispers. “Is everyone else okay?”

Keith winces as he struggles to reach his hand out. Lance understands and takes his hand all too gentle in both of his before squeezing it. They are both shaking. Lance squeezes his hand tighter, as if to keep Keith grounded to him. It hurts only a little, but in this moment, Keith does not mind this bit of pain one bit.

“Yeah, Keith, everyone is okay. You’re going to be okay too.” Lance starts to ramble and Keith is certain he blacks out again for most of it. “They’re on their way. Bef-“

 _He’s hovering just like I did._ Keith thinks to himself. A familiar scene appears in his mind’s eye. _If Lance were to just reach out some more…_

“Lance,” Keith’s voice is airy, softer than a whisper. Even then, the conviction and reassurance comes through as he says, “We’ll always be a good team.”

Keith hopes Lance understands what he is trying to say. He wants to apologize for putting such a distressed look on his face. He tries to focus, blinking back his tears and struggles. He can’t hold onto smiling much longer. The numbing static fills his ears and washes over all of him now. He can’t feel Lance’s hand in his anymore. Anything the sharpshooter is saying is incomprehensible. As he feels himself fading away, he desperately tries to focus on the brilliant blue in front of him. He wishes for more time.

The tears Lance has tried to keep at bay come out on their own. They are streaming freely down his face. _How can you say that? Why do you sound so sure that this might be it?_

“Keith, buddy, my man,” Lance’s voice grows more shrill, more desperate.

His hands shake as he takes Keith’s face in his hands. He can see the glossiness that has washed over violet eyes. He calls out to him and while he gets no answer back, he keeps calling. Then he is moving again with shaky hands trying to be as gentle as possible. Now he is cradling Keith with tears streaming down his face. He wants Keith to come back to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Make the people suffer.  
> \- Julie
> 
> Does the team make it? Are there magics that can be done to help Keith? I'm sorry. 
> 
> Don't forget to check out her + her art on Twitter: [ @rendevok](https://twitter.com/rendevok)
> 
> Come by and maybe say hi to me on Twitter too:  
> [ @kanonicity](https://twitter.com/kanonicity)


End file.
